


Where do we belong? Anywhere but here

by DropboxDreams



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Angst, Forbidden, I need to learn how to tag better, M/M, Romance, Teenagers, These poor babies, gay relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 09:06:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8322076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DropboxDreams/pseuds/DropboxDreams
Summary: “You gonna make it to our next show?” he asked as he added Frank as one of his contacts.  
“Hell yeah,” Frank replied, feeling giddy.  “call me sometime kay?”Frank ran off before he could hear Gerard’s reply.  He was feeling pretty damn good after the show and his new friend.  He felt like nothing could drag him down, like he could take the world by storm and be something.  Little did he know of his impending struggles





	

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written a long time ago and I never had the courage to post it. I'm one of two writers on this profile, so if you are reading this Hi!! Don't mind me and my angsty little dudes  
> ~Damian

_Where Do We Belong? Anywhere But Here._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

Frank came running into his house after school.  He had to get away from those crazy kids from school…  They would kill him one day, he was sure of it.

When he was sure that they wouldn’t burst into the house, he made his way to his bedroom.  He passed the living room on his way, big mistake.  His father and mother were within and waiting for him.

“Frank,” said his father in a commanding voice.  “come here.”

Frank’s stomach hit the floor like a ton of bricks.  Just from his father’s tone of voice Frank could tell that he was incensed about something Frank had done.  He just wasn’t sure what it was yet.  Frank tucked his hands deep in his pockets and braced himself for the routine bout with his parents.  Frank sucked his lower lip into his mouth and crunched his neck into his shoulders to hide his piercings, which made every situation worse.

 “Frank sit down please.” said his mother.  She always tried to be a little less obvious in her disdain for her son.  Frank had come to the realization that both his parents hated him a long time ago.

 “Okay.” mumbled Frank.

 “Do you know why we called you in here Son?” his father put such emphasis on the word _son_ , as if trying to convince himself that Frank really was his child.

 “No.”

 “Have you done anything recently that you would like to tell us about Frank?” _Ugh_ , thought Frank, _why does he need to use my name like it’s a command?_

 “No.”

 “It has come to our attention that you are suspected of having and providing drugs at your school.”

BAM, that’s what Frank had been waiting for.  There was the wrong doing.  Though it was true that he has some weed stashed up in his bedroom, he would never be so stupid as to bring it with him to _school_.  For christ’s sake that would be like asking to get caught.  Frank may have been a troubled kid, but he wasn’t stupid.

 “No, I don’t have any drugs at school and even if I did I wouldn’t share them with anybody.” Frank thought that was a pretty good answer, and the truth to boot.  WRONG.

 “So are you telling me, young man, that you have done drugs in the past?” his father got all red in the face and his mother looked like she was going to pass out.

 “What, like Meth or Heroin?” Frank was feeling testy today, he wasn’t in the mood for anymore harsh judgement. “Nah that stuff is dangerous.”

 “Have you ever smoked Marijuana?” His father seemed to choke on the word.

 “Oh, weed?” Frank straightened up a little and stopped sucking on his lip ring.  “So what if I have, you couldn’t get any proof of it anyway, you can’t force me to take a drug test.”

_Shit I just dug myself a hole,_ thought Frank.  His parents could force him into anything if they really wanted too, but if he did test positive (which he would) that would be bad for his parents’ popularity in the community.  That meant Frank was safe, for now.

 “Go to your room, I don’t want to see you the rest of the night.” his father was about to pop a vein.  His mother was white and unseeing, as if she had seen a ghost.

 Frank took no coaxing to get the rock out of that living room.  When he was safe within the confines of his bedroom, he slumped against the door.  He knew that his effrontery in the living room was going to get his ass grounded.  Little did they know that he was a master escapist by now and he snuck out almost every night to go see bands and just be himself.  Frank felt a wave of exhaustion pass over him.  A full days worth of derision from his classmates and an assault from his parents was pretty energy sapping.

There were so many things Frank’s parents didn’t know about him.  How he was bullied constantly by his classmates and how he was gay and that he wanted to be a musician.  They only saw their short, good-for-nothing failure of a son.  The rebellious punk kid that, a few years ago, got a tattoo illegally on his back of a demonic looking jack-o-lantern.  That was a liberating moment in his life, but it also sealed his fate in the eyes of his parents.  He was going to ruin himself, tossing out all of the ‘work’ they had done to build him up.  Frank was almost eighteen, almost free from their unbearable regime.  He just had to endure their contempt for seven more months.  On October 31st Frank would turn eighteen and he would be out of that house faster than lightning could strike.

He crawled over to his bed, feeling weak and nauseous.  As he was about to doze off, trying to will the nausea away, his phone buzzed in his pocket.  He moaned and dug around for it.  He looked to see who it was.  It was Mikey.   _Ugh what now_ , thought Frank.  Mikey was Frank’s only friend in school, but he was a little too ‘buddy buddy’ for Frank’s liking, it was nice when they hung out in school.  Frank was more of a loner outside of school though, so when Mikey tried to text him all the time it was annoying.  Being the nice person he was, Frank always ended up texting back and indulging in Mikey’s weird conversations.  

"Hey man wht u up 2 2nite??"

"Nm, parents grounded me :("

"Wanna sneak out to a show with me?"

"???"

Frank didn’t want to get in any more trouble than he was already in, but he loved going to see bands late at night.  Frank decided he would go, but first he wanted to know who they were going to go see, if it was another of Mikey’s lame electronic bands Frank was _not_ going to endure that again.

"OK. who is the band?"

 "Dissidence"

"Kk. When we meetin?"

"9:30"

"Alright, at Pat's again right?"

"Yup"

* *  * 

Frank lay in wait for nine o’clock to roll around.  He had a small messenger bag packed with his song book.  He loved to get his song book signed by all the bands he went to see.  Frank was excited, but also scared that he would get caught.  Frank knew his parents didn’t espouse his intense love for punk rock, it made them want to vomit.  Just like Frank wanted to do right now.  His stomach was hurting a lot lately, but the excitement of the show began to make it go away.  

He rolled over on his bed to look at the clock.  It read that it was 8:58 p.m, time to get going.  Slowly Frank inched his way to his door to listen for any movement.  There was only the sound of the television downstairs.  Frank delicately locked his bedroom door.  He did not want them coming in to find him not there.  He often ignored them when they tried to come in, so if they tried and got no response nothing would be suspicious.  Once he was sure that he was safe to go Frank crawled out his bedroom window and down the trellis.

 * * *

Frank wandered into Pat’s keeping an eye out for Mikey as he mingled into the crowd of punk kids.  Mikey wasn’t too hard to find, he looked pretty nerdy in comparison with all the other people around.  He was standing by a small group of people, sipping at a beer.  Frank sauntered over, curious who Mikey was chatting with.  They all looked pretty hardcore, except for one of the guys, he seemed pretty normal aside from all the black clothing and smudged eyeliner.  Frank immediately thought he was really cute, whoever he was.  

“Hey Mikey.” Frank said as he came up to his friend.

“Oh hey Frank, you made it!” Mikey grinned his weird dopey grin.  “This is my brother Gerard, he is the lead singer for Dissidence.”

“Nice to meet you.” Frank mumbled.  So Mikey had a hot brother that sang in a punk band with a kick ass name.  That upped Mikey on Frank’s respect ladder.

“Nice to finally meet you too Frank, Mikey talks about you _all_ the time.” Gerard laughed and playfully bumped Mikey on his shoulder.

“Gee I do not!” Mikey bumped him back.  Then Mikey jumped like someone shocked him and he offered to get Frank a drink, he said sure.  So off Mikey bounded, leaving Frank and Gerard to stand around awkwardly.

“Soooo, you are the singer?” Frank plucked up the courage to break the silence.

“Mm hmm, its pretty fun, I get to run around and be free while I’m up on stage,” Gerard got a distant look in his eyes as he spoke.  “I get to escape my mind for awhile and just be in the moment.”

Frank craved that feeling of freedom from the world, to just _be_.  To not have to think or feel, to be able to float in that momentary weightlessness.  Frank had felt bereft of that freedom all his life.  “You are lucky, that sounds like heaven to me.”

Gerard laughed at that.  His laughter was pretty weird, not the kind you would imagine to come out of a guy like him.  It was high pitched and genuine and just plain weird, the kind of laughter that is contagious.  “Lucky huh, maybe it is, or maybe it’s a curse.”

Just then, Mikey came traipsing back over with a beer for Frank in hand.  Pat, as he is known in the underground scene, announced that Dissidence would be performing soon.  The crowd of people in the basement cheered.  Gerard winked at Frank before he waltzed onto the stage and took the mic in his hands.

The angry howling of Gerard’s vocals sent chills down Frank’s spine, it was as if Gerard was singing every thought, feeling and idea Frank had ever come to know.  It was as if he was possesed by an inner voice in the hearts of all the troubled kids in the room.  He sang about retribution, of the hypocrisy of society.  He wailed out the pains in his heart and clawed at his skin, as if it were entrapping him in an earthly prison.  

Frank imagined Gerard in all his glory.  How he was seemingly untouched by piercings and ink.  Of how it would feel to be next to him, intertwined with him.  Gerard was taller than Frank, was stronger than Frank, was older than Frank.  Even so, he didn’t care, he knew he had to find a way to get to know him better, to understand that intensity lying underneath his shell.

When the show was over Frank went up to Gerard and congratulated him for a job well done.  Gerard waved the compliments off, he looked exhausted and ready to crash.  He, Mikey and Frank chatted for awhile, then Frank realized that it was two in the morning and he was out of the house against the wishes of his parents.  If they had found out that he wasn’t home he was dead, though he didn’t regret it.  He couldn’t regret it because he had met Gerard.  So before he left he asked if he could exchange phone numbers with him.  Gerard smiled crookedly and gave Frank his number.  

“You gonna make it to our next show?” he asked as he added Frank as one of his contacts.  

“Hell yeah,” Frank replied, feeling giddy.  “call me sometime kay?”

Frank ran off before he could hear Gerard’s reply.  He was feeling pretty damn good after the show and his new friend.  He felt like nothing could drag him down, like he could take the world by storm and be something.  Little did he know of his impending struggles.

* * *

A few months passed and Frank was able to sneak around and go to all of Dissidences’ shows.  He also became extremely close with Gerard.  They hung out all the time and talked constantly.  Frank had even gotten the gall to bring Gerard to his house with him.  Frank’s parents did not approve of Gerard, but they had enough sense to know their son needed friends, so they let them be.  

Frank and Gerard would sit up in Frank’s room and talk for hours, they would write music and watch movies.  They were inseparable.  When summer break came along they saw each other every day, Frank even started helping out with the band selling merch at shows.  Frank also became better friends with Mikey.  They stuck together at school and would go out for coffee sometimes to do homework together.  Frank felt less nauseous all the time, didn’t get sick as often.  He was on an upward climb from the lonely despair of his earlier highschool years.  He felt that the best was still to come.  

Frank had started really pursuing his guitar playing, staying up late to practice, playing for his friends to get critiques.  He wanted to be in a band like Gerard, to be as free as he was on the stage.  One day Gerard was hanging out over at Frank’s, lounging on his bed and fanning himself in the humid June heat.  Frank was puttering on his guitar, trying to perfect a rift he had written the night before.  He had stripped off his shirt because of the heat and had his back to Gerard.

“Why a pumpkin?” Gerard drawled.

“Hmm?” Frank wasn’t really paying attention to anything but the guitar.

“What does the pumpkin on your back symbolize?” Gerard shuffled around trying to find a cooler position.

“Oh, well my birthday is on halloween.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, and the whole tattoo represents my wanting to be who I want and not what my parents want.”  Frank felt something brush against his back.  Frank flinched at the touch, he was never one for letting people touch his body, unless it was a person stabbing ink into his skin.

“Don’t move I want to get a better look at it.”  Gerard said as he began to trace the fine lines of ink etched into Frank’s skin.

Frank held so still he thought he would turn to stone.  Gerard was so close to him he could feel his breath heating up his back.  That and Frank could feel himself beginning to blush.  His touch was so light it could have been just a breeze gently brushing against him.  Frank new every bit of the tattoo, every line, so as Gerard traced it Frank was mentally following his movements.  

Frank worked very hard to keep his breath from getting faster, he tried to distract himself by picking at his guitar.  It was impossible him to focus with Gerard so close.

“Have you ever liked someone so much, but knew you could never be with that person?” Gerard whispered.  Frank stiffened.  He couldn’t understand how that was pertinent to Gerard wanting to get a better look at his tattoo.

“I don’t know, maybe.” The truth was yes, and Frank was sitting in the room with that very person.  He craved to be with Gerard, but some part of him said it would never happen.  Gerard was three years older than Frank and couldn’t possibly be into men.

“It is the most painful feeling in the world.” Gerard traced a line down Frank’s spine, causing him to shiver.

“I’m sure it is,” Frank stifled a moan.  He did _not_ want to weird Gerard out, though he doubted it was possible.  “who is the lucky keeper of your heart?”

“Someone very special to me, this person is perfect in every way, just as obsessed with music as I am, passionate about their beliefs and caring and kind,” Gerard started to spew all of the compliments of this person, giving Frank tiny little stabs to his heart with every word.

“He helped me realize that my life is better than what a lot of other people get,” Gerard whispered, Frank could hardly hear him.  Gerard rested his forehead against Frank’s back.  

“He?” Frank thought he had heard him wrong.  

“Yeah, he is one awesome guy, but I don’t think he wants me, I’m pretty sure we are just friends.” Frank was furious with whoever was ignoring Gerard.  How could that person be so stupid as to not see what they could have with him?!

“Well I think he is awfully stupid to not see how great you are.” _Aw hell, I just let the cat out of the bag…_

“Ha ha, I’m not that great, but thank you Frank.”

They sat like that for awhile, Gerard resting his head on Frank and Frank not knowing what to do or say next.  Then Gerard did something so unexpected and unbelievably crazy that Frank thought he was going to die.  He spun Frank around on his chair, took his guitar from his hands, grabbed Frank’s face and kissed him.  Frank felt like he was going to pass out.  Gerard was _kissing_ him.  It was insane, it was like a dream.  Frank had to be dreaming, Gerard would never do something this crazy.  Frank hesitated for a moment, trying to read the situation, trying to see if Gerard was just pulling a prank on him, but he wasn’t.  Gerard was waiting patiently for Frank to make up his mind.  Of course Frank kissed him back.  It was magical, though it felt like the room was two hundred degrees, it was still magical.

Finally Gerard broke off the kiss, leaning back with his hands still on Frank’s face.  He smiled then, it was the most genuine smile Frank had ever seen on his face.  Frank smiled as well, though he felt a little more shy about it.

“Sorry, was that weird?” Gerard asked in a seemingly sarcastic tone.

“Absolutely not.” Frank took one of Gerard’s hands in his own and popped a little kiss on it.

“Good ‘cause that was awesome.” Gerard started laughing.  He stood up and walked over to Frank’s dresser and opened one of the drawers.  “You have to put a shirt on though, or I wont be able to control myself.”

“Oh fiiiiine.”  Frank pretended to pout as he pulled the shirt Gerard had tossed to him.

“Sooo, I suppose this means that we are starting a relationship?”

“I suppose it does.”

* * *

Frank and Gerard were the happiest couple in town, well the happiest couple that no one knew about.  They had to keep their relationship a secret from Frank’s parents.  They had to be the most homophobic people in the state, they thought it was just asking to go to hell.  Frank told Gerard as much while they cuddled in Frank’s room one day.

“Well I guess hell is gonna be pretty awesome don’t you?” Gerard chuckled as he fiddled with Frank’s hair.

“Seems like it when you look at all the things people associate with hell.” Frank closed his eyes, relishing Gerard’s gentle caresses.

“If someone could substantiate that being gay guaranteed you a place in hell then I would be first in line to confirm my sexuality, just to piss people off.”  

Frank laughed, though a little too loud because there came the sound of footsteps in the hall.  Hearing the steps gave the two lovebirds just enough time to untangle from each other and get to opposite sides of the room.

“Frank, I think its time for Gerard to go home, it is eleven o’clock at night and your father has to work in the morning.” his mother’s voice was tense as she spoke through the door, it always was when she spoke about Gerard.

“Okay Mrs. Iero, I was just getting ready to leave.” Gerard knew how to navigate around Frank’s parents, never angering them or giving them a direct cause to dislike him.

He tiptoed across the room and gave Frank the sweetest kiss goodbye before grabbing his bag and going to the door.  Right before he opened it he gave Frank a wink, and then he left.

* * *

Later that night Frank heard a knock on his bedroom window.  He groggily stumbled over to see who it was.  It was Gerard.  Frank opened the window to let him in, confused as to why he was back.  

“Hey Frankie, did I wake you up?” he whispered 

“Yeah but that’s okay, what's wrong?”  Frank felt slightly self conscious, he was only in his boxers and here was his boyfriend squatting in front of his window.

“Nothing, I just need to be around you right now, I’m feeling low.”

“Well come here, lay down while I go put a shirt on.”  Frank grabbed Gerard’s hand and helped him into his room.  He then walked over to his dresser and tugged on a tank top, it was too hot for anything else.  “Gerard, what is wrong, why aren’t you sleeping at home?”

“My family found out about you,” Frank whipped around to look at Gerard, he was sitting on Frank’s bed with his head in his hands.  “My parents kicked me out, they don’t want anything to do with me if I am with a man.” His shoulders shook gently as he spoke.

Frank was at Gerard’s side faster than the Flash.  He took his hands and forced him to look at Frank.  There were tears in his eyes.  Frank wrapped Gerard in his arms and rocked him side to side, trying to comfort him.

“How is it that I am the older one, yet you are by far smarter and more mature than me?” he laughed a little and returned Frank’s embrace.

“It’s because I love you Gerard.” Frank would do anything for him, anything at all.

“I love you too Frank, I love you too.” Gerard gripped Frank so hard Frank could hardly breath.

Frank convinced Gerard to loosen up and lay down so that way they could try to sleep, Frank was really tired after all.  It was way too warm for blankets so they both lay on top of them.  Frank curled up next to Gerard, just to be next to him was amazing, to share that feeling of closeness was a dream come true.  Even if Gerard was in a darker place Frank felt that because he was there with him he was helping lift his mood a little, helping lift the weight of fear from his shoulders.

* * *

Frank rolled over and bumped into something.  He blinked his sleep clouded eyes a few times and patted down the thing next to him.  He realized with a happy jolt that it was Gerard sound asleep with his arm draped over Frank’s waist.  Frank peaked up to see what time it was, the clock said it was 7:34 a.m.  Still feeling tired he plopped his head back down on the pillow and nuzzled his face into Gerard’s chest.  Gerard mumbled a little in his sleep and scooted Frank closer, drifting back into dreamland.  Frank heard the house phone ring quietly downstairs just before he drifted into sleep himself.

* * *

Frank’s bedroom door swung open with a loud bang, startling both of them awake.  Gerard’s mother and Frank’s parents came storming in.  Frank and Gerard were still laced in each other’s arms, laying on the same bed, Frank in a tank top and boxers.  Both of their mothers shrieked like they were looking at a pack of rats, Frank’s father turned a ghostly white color, then green, then he settled on an irate red.  

“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS DEBAUCHERY?!?!?!” he bellowed.  He looked like he was going to explode.

“Gerard come here at once we are LEAVING!” His mother was getting just as mad.

“Frank how could you, you are such a handsome boy…” Frank’s mother could hardly squeak out a whisper.

“I’m an adult mother, I don’t have to go anywhere.” Gerard stood up as he spoke, seeming to tower over Frank’s short parents and even his own mother.

“Oh but you will have to leave my house and my son, or I will call the police!” Frank’s father shrank back from Gerard, afraid he might get violent.

“If Gerard is leaving so am I!” Frank shouted, fear gripped his stomach.  As if all of his nausea had been waiting for the perfect moment to return, it hit him like a wall.

“No you are staying here young man, I will _never_ allow you to go marauding around with this _heathen_.” Frank’s father spat out the words like they were poison on his tongue.  

Gerard and Frank looked at one another trying to find a way out of the situation, a way to hide that they were in love, but there could be no way to change what was about to happen or be said.

“Frank, I hereby forbid any and all contact with this sick excuse for a human being,” his father declared.  “no son of mine is gay, he is a sinful influence on your fragile mind, now get away from that _dog_.”

Gerard paled, if it was even possible for him to get paler.  Frank grabbed Gerard’s hand, gripping it as tight as he could in his weakened state.  This was proof of his parents loathing for their son, for their one and only child.

“No one can _make_ me gay, I have always been this way,” Frank whispered.  Gerard gave a sidelong glance to Frank.  “this is who I am and I will never change, if you can’t accept that then I guess I’m not your son.”

Frank’s mother cried out, clearly feeling some sort of motherly pain at hearing her ‘son’ speak that way.  Frank’s father sputtered like the fool he was, trying to regain control over the situation.  Clearly he had lost, Frank was two months away from being eighteen and had the right to leave his verbally abusive household.

Frank got up, feeling a burst of strength and walked to his closet, grabbed a duffle bag and started stuffing it full of clothes.  No one moved to stop him, no one moved at all.  Frank shot a glance at Gerard and saw the tiniest smirk on his face.  Frank was taking the reins and being the adult in the situation, something he knew Gerard admired.  Once he was finished packing he marched over to Gerard, took his hand and turned back to face the people who were once his parents.  His mother was in tears, she was weeping for the loss of her only baby, realising for the first time all the hurt she had inflicted on him, but seeing no way to redress it she could only cry.  Gerard’s mother was in a similar state, feeling the weight of Frank’s words reflecting her son’s feelings.  Frank’s father however was stone faced and still as a statue, he clearly had made the mental switch that he no longer possessed a son.  He never had.

“Come on Gerard, let’s get out of here, _these people_ don’t want us here.” Gerard nodded, he seemed to be speechless in that moment.

“Frankie baby don’t go, we can talk about this, we can fix it.” as the two boys approached to door Frank’s mother reached out to Frank.

“Fix what, my sexuality?” Frank wasn’t stupid, he knew they could never accept him for who he was.

“Baby, it’s a phase, please let us help you.” The sad thing was was that she truly believed her words.

“Fuck. You.” Gerard spat at her.  “You are the ones who need help, Frank is the most intelligent, mature, level headed and talented person I have ever met and I feel genuinely lucky to have met and fallen in love with him.”

Gerard pulled Frank out of the room and practically ran down the stairs, not staying to start a new argument.  They burst through the front door and made a run for Gerard’s beat up car.  Frank dialed Mikey’s phone number.  He picked up almost instantly.

“Dude, my mom is on the way ov-”

“I know, she is there now, we are leaving and gonna go over to stay at Bob’s place for awhile you want to join us?” Frank knew it probably wasn’t the best idea to get Gerard’s brother to leave when he was still a minor like Frank.  Though he was going to be turning eighteen in two weeks so it didn’t really matter.

“Hell yeah, if my mom can’t accept my brother or my best friend for who they are then I need to get the fuck outta here.”  Mikey sounded relieved that they had left together.

“Cool, we will be there in ten.”

“Sounds good, I’ll be there about the same time,”  Mikey paused.  “Tell Gerard that I am so so happy for him, and for you too Frank, you guys need each other.”

He hung up after that.  Frank felt a burst of emotion then, tears trailing down his cheeks in happy waves.

“Frankie what's the matter?”  Gerard worriedly darted his head from Frank to the road.

“Nothing Gee, I’m just happy,” Frank reached over and placed his hand on Gerard’s leg.  “Mikey is happy for me and you and it made me just as happy, if not more.”

Gerard got teary eyed at this, feeling the brotherly bond between himself and Mikey deepen.

“Well I’m happy too, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me.” Gerard grinned his lopsided grin.

“I love you Gerard Arthur Way and don’t you ever forget it.” they reached a stop light and Frank leaned over and kissed Gerard.

“I would never, Frank Anthony Iero, I love you too much.”

The End


End file.
